Rural Women's Health Research Articles

Sexual health literacy among rural women in Southern Iran

Sexual health literacy (SHL) is a set of skills related to sexual behaviors that can affect sexual behavior and empower individuals to maintain as well as improve their sexual health. This study aimed to investigate the rural women's sexual health literacy and its related factors in Iran. This cross-sectional study was conducted on 200 married women of reproductive ages referring to health center in Benaroyeh region along with six sub-villages in the South of Fars, Iran. Using convenience sampling method, we collected data via demographic-reproductive characteristics questionnaire and sexual health literacy for adult’s questionnaire. We analyzed data using SPSS-16. Approximately 33.5% of the women obtained their sexual information online. The mean total SHL score was 75.64 ± 12.81. The SHL level was considered desirable in 82.5% of the participants. Among the four domains of SHL, the scores of most subjects on access skills and analysis-evaluation skills were unfavorable, 24.5% and 35.5%, respectively. The results show that the SHL level was correlated with education (P = 0.021) and inversely related to the gravidity (P = 0.04). There was also a statistically significant relationship between SHL level and women's career (P = 0.026), spouse's career (P = 0.01), and parity (P = 0.05). Most rural women had desirable levels of SHL. Given the lower levels of SHL in access and analysis-evaluation skills, and given the prevalence of Internet use, the provision of high quality and accessible online sexual health content within social and cultural norms is recommended.

Care for Women's Health

The mechanisms by which Internet use influences rural women's health are explored in this paper using a mixed-methods approach. Findings indicate that internet use has a significant and positive effect on the health of rural women and hold up to endogenous and robustness testing. Additionally, the strength of the effects of internet use on self-rated health, depression, and cognition level decreases with age. Information accessibility and social trust as the important path mechanisms for Internet use to promote self-rated health and cognition level. We also investigated the impact of COVID-19 outbreak on this mechanism to further recognize the critical role of digital technology in global public health emergency preparedness and response efforts. These findings provide some insights for policy formulation by Governments and practical action by organizations to better improve women's health in rural areas and reduce rural health disparities.

A study of Rural Women's Health

According to the World Health Organization, health is not merely the absence of disease but a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being. The real meaning of being healthy is focusing on yourself and adopting healthy ways of living. After independence in India, health has been one of the main goals facing the country. There have always been obstacles in bringing health facilities to the rural people of the country. The average life expectancy of people in India increased from 32 years in 1951 to 64.6 years for men and 67.6 years for women in 2011. If we look at the nutritional status of women and adolescents in India, 58% of pregnant women are anaemic. 33% of malnourished women, 30% of married women under the age of 18 and 42% of women with low weight during pregnancy. A study unit of 10 villages has been selected from each taluka of Bhavnagar district. A total of 300 women namely 30-30 rural women from each village have been purposefully selected through Yadachh demonstration method. In the present study, 62% of the respondents have common illnesses like cold, cough, fever, and headache, in modern times, very few people take home remedies during the treatment of the illness, while the maximum number of respondents take the treatment in the hospital. There is a government hospital facility in their village to a small extent, while there is a small amount of private hospital, the government health worker comes to their village to a very small extent, 68% of the respondents say that the doctor comes regularly to the health center of their village, 69% of the subjects under study. The respondent is getting satisfactory advice from the employee. In the present study, more than half of the respondents have to pay the expenses of the illness to their husbands, while less amount have to be paid by themselves. In the present study maximum respondents know about Ma Amritham Yojana but take little benefit of it. In the present study only 8% respondents deliver at home. While 28% of the respondents give birth in a hospital and 42% in a private hospital. In the present study, rural women suffered from many health related problems due to economic factors. In the present study also more health related problems have been observed in uneducated women as compared to educated women. Overhead delivery is very harmful to a woman's health. Rural women have a high rate of miscarriage due to lack of education and awareness or other family reasons that negatively affect their health. Even today, there is a tradition in the rural society that after all the men in the house have eaten, the women eat, due to which there is not enough food left. This leads to malnutrition among rural women and this condition of malnutrition over time creates serious diseases. These health issues arise in villages under study where facilities are lacking.

RE-AIM applied to a primary care workforce training for rural providers and nurses: the Department of Veterans Affairs' Rural Women's Health Mini-Residency.

Application of the Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, and Maintenance (RE-AIM) framework to evaluate workforce education and training programs targeting clinical health care staff has received relatively little attention. This paper aims to contribute to this area with RE-AIM findings from a women's health-focused workforce training program implemented by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Over the past two decades, the rapid expansion of the women Veteran population in VA has necessitated a quick response to meet clinical demand. To address this health care need, the VA Offices of Rural Health (ORH) and Women's Health (OWH) partnered to deploy a primary care workforce development initiative for Rural Providers and Nurses-the Rural Women's Health Mini-Residency (Rural WH-MR)-to train VA clinicians in rural locations in skills for the care of women Veterans. Here we assess the applicability of RE-AIM as an evaluation framework in this context. We evaluated the Rural WH-MR, relying on a primarily quantitative approach, rooted in RE-AIM. It included longitudinal and cross-sectional measurements from multiple quantitative and qualitative data sources to develop selected metrics. Data collection instruments consisted of pre-, post-, and follow-up training surveys, course evaluations, existing VA databases, and implementation reports. We developed metrics for and assessed each RE-AIM component by combining data from multiple instruments and then triangulating findings. Results from the Rural WH-MR program for fiscal years 2018-2020 indicate that RE-AIM provides an instructive evaluation framework for a rural workforce training program, particularly in eliciting clarity between measures of Reach vs. Adoption and focusing attention on both provider- and patient-level outcomes. We describe evaluation metric development and barriers to and facilitators of utilizing RE-AIM as an evaluation framework for a provider- and nurse-facing intervention such as this workforce training program. We also reflect upon RE-AIM benefits for highlighting process and outcomes indicators of a training program's success and lessons learned for evaluating rural workforce development innovations. Several of our observations have implications for training and evaluation approaches in rural areas with more limited access to health care services.

Impact of folate biofortified food supplement on rural women's health and willingness‐to‐pay: A study based on a connected randomized controlled trial—Becker–DeGroot–Marschak experiment in China

AbstractWe examined whether folate‐fortified maize (FFM) improves the health of rural women of childbearing age and whether the health intervention is associated with the consumer willingness‐to‐pay (WTP) for FFM. First, a randomized single‐blind FFM intervention trial was conducted in rural childbearing‐aged women. Participants (n = 55) consumed one stalk of either FFM (treatment group) or ordinary maize (control group) daily. This dietary intervention lasted for 2 months, during which we assessed the participants' serum folate levels at baseline, mid stage (after 1 month), and final stage (after 2 months) to evaluate the health effect of FFM. We found that the serum folate level in the treatment group (13.31 ng/mL) was 3.40 ng/mL higher than that in the control group (9.91 ng/mL) in the final stage of the study. These findings suggest that regular dietary FFM intake significantly increased serum folate levels in rural Chinese women. Second, we further expanded our study by involving 181 local rural women with similar demographic characteristics to participate in a Becker–DeGroot–Marschak (BDM) bidding experiment to measure their WTPs for FFM. Results showed that local consumers were willing to pay 2.82 Chinese Yuan (CNY) per stalk of FFM, approximately 1.21 CNY higher than the price of ordinary maize. And women who participated in and completed the intervention trial had a higher preference for FFM during the evaluation. We provide evidence on the health improvement effect of biofortified foods and shed light on the associated consumer valuation and policy implementation.

BIOMEDICINE AND WOMEN HEALTH: THE PRACTICE OF BIOMEDICINE IN A RURAL AREA OF BANGLADESH

Medical anthropology, an interdisciplinary subfield of mainstream anthropology, has become the most popular and potential knowledge that receiving its brawny figure at present world. Biomedicine, a strong concept of medical anthropology includes: the scientific medicine, allopathy medicine, modern medicine and the regular medicine that basically focuses on human biology, pathophysiology, western knowledge and modern technology. It has become globally dominant during this century and well-practiced in developed, developing and less developed countries. This study has explored, what are the local nature, practice and perception of western biomedicine in rural area of Bangladesh. This research paper systematically searches, what type of challenges have to face by the rural women to get access to biomedicine or modern medical service in local hospital and clinics. What a modern technology and scientific knowledge-based treatment system impacted on rural women’s biological and mental health, this paper explores that. Applying Critical Medical Anthropology (CMA) Perspective, this paper has sorted out to identify the socio-cultural and political-economic aspects of biomedicine and what are the impacts of biomedicine on rural women health. What kinds of health problems, rural women are facing and what are the ultimate result of it as practicing biomedicine that will be analyzed here. Using Critical Medical Anthropology (CMA) this study has analyzed the power relation that is found in biomedicine and biomedical health seeking in local hospital and clinics that has become the primary area of social control. This article is a written interpretation of an anthropological fieldwork that was done in 2017, in Kaiba village at Sharsha Upazilla of Jashore district of Bangladesh.

Health Services Utilization Barriers for Rural Elderly Women in Bangladesh: Narratives of Clinicians, Pharmacists and Public Health Assistants.

Bangladesh has the third largest population of poor older adults in the world and 73% of them live in rural areas. Disparity in the country's health services is evident that creates a substantial pressure, especially on rural elderly women who live in a compromised socio-cultural atmosphere. This is true that we know about rural elderly women's self-reported health and service use barriers, but no studies captured the views of health staff. This study presents a qualitative exploration of the views held by rural health staff whose role is to provide care to local elderly women. We conducted 11 interviews with clinicians, pharmacists and public health assistants in Sylhet district, Bangladesh. A critical thematic discourse analysis, using the critical social constructs of Habermas and Honneth, of the data informed the women's inadequate healthcare access and associated barriers that were complex and overlapping but had explicit institutional, subjective and material consequences. Five major themes emerged including: unequal distribution of health services; marginalization in patient-staff relationships; living with poverty; social relegation; and mistrust of clinical treatment. Rural areas were viewed with inequitably distributed health services and traditionally a large proportion of elderly women living in poverty who lacked social support and demonstrated a mistrust towards healthcare system. No recognition of the women and power differences were underpinned by economic factors and cultural societal values. The findings suggest a need for health policy solutions and education of healthcare staff and elderly women regarding accessing healthcare.

Implementation experience and initial assessment of a rural women's health training program in support of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs as a learning health system.

IntroductionThe increasing number of women Veterans receiving health care from the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) has spurred the need for more women's health primary care providers (PCPs) and nurses, including in rural areas nationwide. Here we report on the implementation of a women's health rural workforce training program, demonstrate initial evidence of its effectiveness within VHA as a Learning Health System, and present lessons learned and implications for other workforce training programs.MethodsThe Women's Health Primary Care Mini‐Residency for Rural Providers and Nurses (Rural WH‐MR) is a mobile VHA training initiative adapted from a national training model. The Rural WH‐MR uses asynchronous blended learning paired with in‐person hands‐on instruction delivered directly at rural VHA sites. Mixed methods evaluation using quantitative data, qualitative interviews, and observational feedback assessed the program's implementation feasibility, fidelity, acceptability, and appropriateness. Longitudinal survey data were used to assess the initial program impact via changes in participating PCP and nurse knowledge, attitudes, practices, and skills (KAPS).ResultsInclusive of the pilot and fiscal years 2018 and 2019 Rural WH‐MR trainings, 181 PCPs, and 320 nurses were trained through 56 training events nationwide. Cumulative survey data using 5‐point measures showed high participant satisfaction, achievement of program‐specific objectives, and usefulness of training activities to the rural practice of both PCPs and nurses. Both a pre‐training and 6‐month‐follow‐up survey were completed by 52 PCPs (32.9%) and 93 nurses (32.2%) and revealed significant sustained improvements in 18 out of 22 KAPS (p < 0.01–0.03) areas assessed for PCPs and all 17 KAPS (p < 0.01) areas assessed for nurses.ConclusionsThis adapted training program benefitted VHA's rural clinical workforce thereby contributing to the VHA goal of increasing the numbers of rural women Veterans with access to PCPs and nurses with women's health expertise.

Socio-economic Impacts of Rural Energy Poverty on Women and Students in Esa-Oke, Nigeria

Energy poverty is a growing global challenge with significant adverse effects on well-being and health. However, its social impacts on vulnerable population in deprived communities have been largely ignored. Consequently, this study examines the social-economic impacts of energy poverty among women and students in Esa Oke, a hilly and rural and energy-deprived community in southwestern Nigeria. A cross-sectional survey design approach was adopted, while purposive and random sampling technique was used in selecting respondents. Findings from the study revealed differences in energy consumption behaviour of women and students in rural settings; while women adopt traditional biomass for cooking, students adopt modern energy services. Additionally, the impacts of poor energy access differ per women and students. For instance, on one hand, the use of traditional biomass significantly affects rural women's health, as the majority (95%) of women respondents reported exposure to emissions through indirect combustion of fuelwood. On the other hand, students' academic performance and academic activities were significantly disrupted due to the poor electricity supply in the area. Based on the foregoing, the study recommends an inclusive rural energy policy that captures all social groups affected by energy poverty.

Perception of the effects of firewood usage on rural women’s health in Ogun State Nigeria

The study assessed the effects of firewood usage on rural women health in Ogun State. Samples of 128 respondents were randomly selected from four local government areas of Ogun State. Data were collected with the aid of structured questionnaire. Percentages were used for data analysis. Majority of the respondents were married (91%) with a mean age of 50 years. Most of the respondents (86.7%) used firewood for cooking, the preference of the utilization of firewood over other alternatives was due to non-availability of other sources (40%) and availability of firewood (33%). Some perceived health effects on the respondents were discomfort caused by the smoke from the firewood (𝑥 ̅ = 2.81) and eyes irritation (= 2.53). The study recommended alternative energy sources that are with lesser health hazards be made readily available at subsidized rate in the rural areas since this was the major attractive driving force for the use of firewood.

Predicting Rural Women's Breast Cancer Screening Intention in China: A PLS-SEM Approach Based on the Theory of Planned Behavior.

BackgroundIt was reported that the incidence of breast cancer (BC) was the highest among cancers worldwide. The breast cancer screening (BCS) program is regarded as an effective preventive measure. However, rural women's willingness to participate in the BCS program is relatively low. To provide measures to prevent BC, it is necessary for the government to identify the influencing factors of rural women's BCS intention.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted among 3,011 rural women by a convenience sampling method through face-to-face interviews on a self-designed questionnaire based on the theory of planned behavior (TPB). The partial least square structural equation model (PLS-SEM) was conducted to determine the predictors of BCS intention, and a multi-group analysis (MGA) of age was performed to identify if there were differences in all hypotheses between different age groups.ResultsThere were still rural women who have not been screened for BC in five years (41.7%). The research model of rural women's intention to accept this prevention against BC was rational. All of the hypotheses are supported. Especially, subjective norm (SN) (β = 0.345, p < 0.001) is found to be the strongest predictor followed by the perceived behavioral control 1 (PBC 1) (personal factors, including distance, transportation, busyness, etc.) (β = 0.165, p < 0.001), attitude (β = 0.152, p < 0.001), past behavior (PB) (β = 0.150, p < 0.001), knowledge (β = 0.121, p < 0.001), and perceived behavioral control 2 (PBC 2) (pain and cultural-social factors including embarrassment from a physician, etc.) (β = 0.042, p < 0.05). The advocacy and education (A&E), medical level and service attitude (ML&SA) of township health centers and village clinics can affect behavior intention (BI) via attitude, SN, and PBC. The results of MGA of age indicate that there are significant differences among rural women of different ages regarding the relationship between A&E and PBC 2 (p < 0.01) and the effect of PB on BI (p < 0.001).ConclusionThe TPB with the addition of PB, knowledge, ML&SA, and A&E can provide the theoretical basis for the policy intervention that aims to enhance the rural women's BCS willingness. MGA of age is conducive to promoting the implementation of the BCS policy. The findings are of great significance to improve rural women's health levels.

Perception of the Effects of Fire Wood Usage on Rural Women’s Health in Ogun State Nigeria

The study assessed the effects of firewood usage on rural women health in Ogun State. Samples of 128 respondents were randomly selected from four local government areas of Ogun State. Data were collected with the aid of structured questionnaire. Percentages were used for data analysis. Majority of the respondents were married (91%) with a mean age of 50 years. Most of the respondents (86.7%) used firewood for cooking, the preference of the utilization of firewood over other alternatives was due to non-availability of other sources (40%) and availability of firewood (33%). Some perceived health effects on the respondents were discomfort caused by the smoke from the firewood (𝑥 ̅= 2.81) and eyes irritation (= 2.53). The study recommended alternative energy sources that are with lesser health hazards be made readily available at subsidized rate in the rural areas since this was the major attractive driving force for the use of firewood.

Intersections between rural women's resilience and quality of life: a mixed-methods study.

to analyze the intersections between rural women's quality of life and resilience. convergent mixed methods design in which a cross-sectional quantitative study is triangulated with a qualitative study guided by Oral History. Data were collected concomitantly, using a socio-demographic form, Resilience Scale, Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey, and open-ended interviews. The analysis was based on descriptive and inferential statistics and inductive thematic analysis, which was integrated later. an association was found between the social aspects domain of quality of life and a moderate level of resilience related to the characteristics of life in rural areas. The integration of results enabled verifying that these two constructs (which mutually influence each other) are mediated by protective factors, resilience developed by the rural women, such as spirituality and the formation of social support, enchantment, and a feeling of belonging to their context. by developing protective factors, rural women develop a resilient behavior that favors their quality of life. Identifying these factors enables the development of psychosocial interventions to promote rural women's health.

The Effects of Natural Resource Degradation on Rural Women's Health: A Sociological Analysis

Natural resource degradation in developing countries is more likely to generate eventual threats of exhaustion. Major changes in weather patterns, seasonal cycles, and crop failure due to heavy rainfall have affected both men and women in rural areas of Pakistan. However, since women in rural areas of Pakistan are actively engaged in natural resource management, they are more likely to bear the brunt of the burden due to their traditional roles of washing, food preparation, water collection, and family care. Under a qualitative research design, the current research paper has focused specifically on how natural resource degradation affects the health of rural women. The research was conducted using thematic analysis, through an in-depth study of the day-to-day activities of rural women and the pressure experienced by them. To do so, sixteen in-depth interviews were conducted with rural women by using interview and observation protocol. The findings revealed that rural women were dedicated to their work despite natural resource degradation they are bound to their household responsibilities, leading to mental and physical stress, as a result, overburdening and unhealthy lifestyles.

“Livelihoods and health hazards: With special reference to reproductive health of rural women

Health is considered as a fundamental human right. It is a country where 68.80% of the population resides in a rural area and males significantly outnumber females. Health is considered as a fundamental human right. Health of women is not merely a state of physical well being but also an expression of many roles they play as wives, mothers, health care providers in the family and in the changed scenario even as wage earners. Reproductive health implies that people including men and women are able to have a satisfying safe sex life and they have the capability to reproduce and the freedom to decide if, when and how often to do so. It includes family planning services, access to contraception, counseling and information, antenatal, postnatal and delivery care, healthcare for infants, treatment for reproductive tract infections and sexually transmitted diseases, safe abortion services where legal and management of abortion related complications, prevention and appropriate treatment for infertility, information, education and counseling on human sexuality, reproductive health and responsible parenting and discouragement of harmful practices. Health plays important role in the generation of livelihoods of rural people in general and women in particular. Reproductive Health of women is neglected area and new reproductive health problems are increasing such as infection in uterus, breast cancer, and sexually transmitted disease. Well being of reproductive health of rural women enhances the chances of livelihood of rural women. The present study addresses all the issues concerning with livelihoods and reproductive health and this study was carried in Solapur and Kolhapur districts of Western Maharashtra. The objectives of study are to understand the socio-economic background of selected rural women for proposed project and to know the issues related rural women's reproductive health and availability of reproductive health care in rural areas. 200 married women respondents in age group of 18–25 were selected for study. Still fifty percentage of rural women are only unaware about the reproductive health and gender discrimination should be addressed and it is necessary to create the awareness about reproductive health among males

A trabalhadora rural e a exposição ocupacional no cultivo do tomate

O estudo teve por objetivo identifi car a percepção da mulher rural sobre sua exposição ocupacional no cultivodo tomate. Pesquisa descritivo-exploratória, realizada em localidades rurais que cultivam agricultura tomateira,na cidade de Vassouras, Rio de Janeiro/RJ. A escolha do cenário deve-se ao fato de grande número de mulherestrabalharem nestes espaços agrícolas. Além disto, o desenvolvimento da atividade de Agente Comunitária deSaúde promoveu familiaridade com o campo de estudo e viabilidade através da unidade de Estratégia Saúde daFamília (ESF) correspondente. Participaram do estudo 20 mulheres adultas que trabalham no cultivo do tomate.O instrumento utilizado para coleta de dados foi um questionário com 10 perguntas, levando em consideraçãoaspectos referentes à saúde, exposição ocupacional e percepção frente a sua prática diária no manejo da agriculturaem questão. Observou-se que, 25% dessas mulheres trabalham mais de 10 horas por dia, somente 35% delas usamEquipamento de Proteção Individual (EPI) e 65% das agricultoras não relacionam seu problema de saúde com seuambiente de trabalho. Em síntese, o estudo traz contribuições para novas pesquisas no contexto da saúde da mulherrural como fator determinante para prevenção e promoção da saúde.Palavras-chave: Enfermagem; Saúde da Mulher Rural; Exposição Ocupacional.

Husband and Wife Perspectives on Farm Household Decision-making Authority and Evidence on Intra-household Accord in Rural Tanzania

We use OLS and logistic regression to investigate variation in husband and wife perspectives on the division of authority over agriculture-related decisions within households in rural Tanzania. Using original data from husbands and wives (interviewed separately) in 1,851 Tanzanian households, the analysis examines differences in the wife's authority over 13 household and farming decisions. The study finds that the level of decision-making authority allocated to wives by their husbands, and the authority allocated by wives to themselves, both vary significantly across households. In addition to commonly considered assets such as women's age and education, in rural agricultural households women's health and labor activities also appear to matter for perceptions of authority. We also find husbands and wives interviewed separately frequently disagree with each other over who holds authority over key farming, family, and livelihood decisions. Further, the results of OLS and logistic regression suggest that even after controlling for various individual, household, and regional characteristics, husband and wife claims to decision-making authority continue to vary systematically by decision-suggesting that decision characteristics themselves also matter. The absence of spousal agreement over the allocation of authority (i.e., a lack of "intra-household accord") over different farm and household decisions is problematic for interventions seeking to use survey data to develop and inform strategies for reducing gender inequalities or empowering women in rural agricultural households. Findings provide policy and program insights into when studies interviewing only a single spouse or considering only a single decision may inaccurately characterize intra-household decision-making dynamics.

Working Through and Around: Exploring Rural Public Health Nursing Practices and Policies To Promote Rural Women’s Health

Purpose : To discuss findings from research in Ontario, Canada, that addresses the following objectives: 1) identify organizational attributes and local and provincial health policies that enable or impede the work of Ontario public health nurses to improve rural women's health, and 2) critically examine roles, job descriptions, and practices of Ontario PHNs that will improve rural women's health. Sample: 20 frontline PHNs and 14 supervisors and managers in three Ontario public health units that serve people who live in rural locations. Method : Six focus group interviews were conducted with PHNs and PHN managers in three rural Ontario public health units. Study participants were asked to describe policies and practices that guided their practice regarding rural women's health, identify organizational attributes that enable or impede public health nursing practice regarding rural women's health, and indicate roles and practices for PHNs to improve rural women's health. Findings : 1) Policies address rural women's health and rural public health minimally or not at all, 2) PHN practice is primarily focused on child bearing women and children to the exclusion of other populations of rural women such as seniors, 3) PHNs work through and around policies to address rural women' s health more effectively, and 4) institutional, government, community, professional, and personal factors play significant roles in shaping public health nursing practice and policy regarding rural women's health. Conclusions : This research facilitates understanding regarding policies, contexts, and values that shape rural PHN practice, and provides evidence for policies and practices that enhance and support public health nursing for more effective promotion of rural women's health. Clearly, more investigation is needed; this research forms the basis for ongoing inquiry in this area. Keywords : rural public health nursing, rural women's health, policy, practice, Canada DOI : h ttp://dx.doi.org/10.14574/ojrnhc.v15i1.342

Rural women's sexuality, reproductive health, and illiteracy: a critical perspective on development

Rural women's sexuality, reproductive health, and illiteracy: a critical perspective on development

Understanding women's health promotion and the rural church.

Many rural health resources are linked to community churches, which are often well attended, especially by rural women. We used interpretive phenomenology and the photovoice method to understand how the church influenced health promotion for rural women, whose health is often significantly compromised compared with the health of urban women. Our analysis of the data from individual interviews, group sessions, photographs, and logbooks suggested that the rural church significantly facilitated rural women's health promotion. The church supported the physical, intellectual, emotional, and spiritual health of rural women, facilitated social connectedness, and provided healthful opportunities to give and to receive. Implications included reframing religious places as health-promoting and socially inclusive places for rural women.